A new post for: “A Movie I Love That Most People Hate,” comes from my good friend and regular Vic’s Movie Den column contributor, Michael Cavacini. He stops by The Den to share with us a personal movie that he loves! For this entry he discusses the much maligned James Bond film: “Die Another Day” and the reasons why you should probably give the movie another shot!

Make sure you stop by Michael’s great Blog page and check out his articulate Movie and Book reviews, among other interesting topics.

In 2002, I saw my first James Bond movie in a theater, Die Another Day, which was the 20th in the series and it celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 007 film franchise. Despite the negative reviews, Die Another Day is still one of my favorite James Bond films. Let me explain.

Die Another Day was Pierce Brosnan’s fourth foray as 007, and in this film he seemed extremely comfortable in the role. He oozed charisma, delivered humorous one-liners with aplomb and panache and stole the show with a spectacular sword fight with the film’s villain, Gustav Graves.

Speaking of Gustav Graves, Toby Stephens, the actor who played him did a serviceable job in the role, but he wasn’t particularly memorable. Rosamund Pike as Miranda Frost, on the other hand, was far superior; she was mysterious, beautiful and more believable. Pike would go on to star in many prominent roles while Stephens seemingly disappeared into obscurity, further validating my aforementioned point.

Halle Berry as Jinx, Bond’s pseudo-sidekick, was effective in her role and the chemistry between her and Brosnan was palpable. Other noteworthy performances included the always-excellent Judi Dench as M and John Cleese as Q. In the case of Q, it’s a shame that Cleese didn’t get a second chance to reprise the role as he seemed like a natural fit for it.

I also enjoyed the music for this film. The title song by Madonna wasn’t classic Bond, that’s for certain, but it worked with the futuristic score composed by Bond mainstay David Arnold. Unlike Goldeneye’s score, Arnold struck a balance between old and new by celebrating the history of the franchise with the iconic melodies it’s become known for. He also modernized some of the music so it fit the high-tech nature of the story-line and set pieces, but he treated it with enough reverence so as not to upset the Bond faithful.

Die Another Day is a great James Bond film that doesn’t get the credit it deserves. It was my favorite Bond movie with Brosnan at the helm, and it introduced me to the series, so it can’t be all that bad, right? If you haven’t seen it, give it a shot. If you have, give it a second chance. If you don’t take it too seriously, you might find yourself smiling in the end.

In addition to the movie trailer, below are some of the numerous references Die Another Day made to previous Bond films, according to BondMovies.com:

Dr No

Halle Berry wears an orange bikini when she comes out of the ocean in a scene reminiscent of Honey Ryder in Dr. No.

From Russia with Love

The attaché case is seen in Q’s workshop, along with shoes with poison daggers protruding from them.

Goldfinger

The betting of Gustav’s diamond for the fencing duel was similar to when Bond bet Goldfinger his gold bar for the golf game.

Thunderball

Bond eats the grape after cleverly avoiding the guards at the DNA clinic, just as Connery did in Thunderball.

You Only Live Twice

Jinx descends from the ceiling of the fake diamond mine on a rope system similar to that of the ninjas in the volcano crater lair.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

“OHMSS” is written on a CD on Moneypenny’s desk as she types a report at the end of the film.

Diamonds Are Forever

Before the sword fight, Gustav Graves says “Diamonds are forever. But life isn’t.”

Live and Let Die

The scene where Icarus blows up the minefields is similar to the scene where Mr. Big’s drug crops blow up.

The Man with the Golden Gun

The Icarus controls looked a bit like the controls for Scaramanga’s laser, and when Bond goes through the secret entrance at the DNA replacement hospital, he passes through a room with colorful spinning mirriors, reminiscent of Scaramanga’s hideout.

The Spy Who Loved Me

Graves lands outside Buckingham Palace in a Union Jack parachute similar to Bond’s in the opening scene of The Spy Who Loved Me.

Moonraker

Moon’s hovercraft falls down by a large waterfall in a manner similar to Jaws’ boat going over the Iguaçu Falls.

For Your Eyes Only

The scene as Bond hangs onto the ice cliff (before it collapses) resembles the climax near the monastery, especially as the rope slips and Bond drops some distance further down the cliff, although this time it was all performed from a vehicle.

Octopussy

The acrostar jet and the crocodile sub are in Q’s workshop.

A View to a Kill

Graves watches over the destruction that he wreaks from the front windows of his aircraft in the same way that Zorin watched Silicon Valley from his aircraft before it flooded.

The Living Daylights

Cars fly out of a plane in mid-air, like the jeep does in The Living Daylights.

License to Kill

M says, “License Revoked” – the original title of License to Kill.

GoldenEye

Jinx’s backwards dive looked similar to Bond’s from the dam, the bullet flying at the audience in the gunbarrel opening, and Bond goes to Cuba.

Tomorrow Never Dies

Bond calls his invisible Aston Martin Vanquish towards him, like he did with the BMW in Tomorrow Never Dies.

The World is Not Enough

As Bond dives to safety from Moon’s flamethrower on the hovercraft, the shot of his dive from in front is almost identical to another scene where Bond is diving from an exploding bomb with Christmas in The World is Not Enough.

Here is the Official Music Video for “Die Another Day” from Madonna:

A heartfelt thanks to my good pal, Michael, for always contributing some wonderful posts for Vic’s Movie Den. I am very grateful for his help, supplying us with very entertaining and well thought out columns. Can’t wait to see what else he has in store for us in the future! Thanks Michael!

My good buddy, Michael Cavacini fromMichaelCavacini.com has just shared a new Video he whipped up with style and fun about his latest and greatest new treasure. The Ultimate 007Coffee Table book called “The James Bond Archives.” It was Michael’s 100th post on his blog, too! Go Micheal!!!

Michael was nice enough to allow me to share his awesome Vid in which he covers the book in some detail. It looks incredible! So buckle down for a few minutes and check out this entertaining video starring Senor Cavacini showing off his cool book! I am so incredibly jealous, Michael. “Sigh….”

James Bond investigates the mid-air theft of a space shuttle and discovers a plot to commit global genocide.

The Bond Films: “Moonraker”

Directed by Lewis Gilbert

7 out of 10

By Vic

“Any higher Mr Bond and my ears will pop.”

Poor Poor Roger Moore. Well, kind of. I gotta admit he looked like he had fun making this movie but many Bond fans the world over consider his turn as James Bond in “Moonraker” to be one of the most laughable and over the top entries in the 007 canon. As a die hard James Bond fan I, by default, like to find things to like in all of the movies. But no where like I do in Moonraker.

I do hold a special place in my heart for Moonraker since it was the first film I saw in the movie theaters here in Rochester, NY. I must confess coming off of the high that was Star Wars and even Disney’s The Black Hole, Moonraker was a fun watch for me. Perhaps it was because I had still to witness the glory days of how Bond was before Moore with the Connery entries. That was to come much later after I had moved back to NYC and my Uncle and Grandfather insisted I watch “Dr. No” and the rest.

It’s a pretty simple and decent story about a kind of demented “Noah’s Ark” for the space age which involves the uber-rich Mr Hugo Drax, played with cheeky severance by Actor Micheal Lonsdale. Lonsdale also starred in the fabulous action film “Ronin” from director John Frankenheimer. Here, Drax is the problematic megalo-maniac that has a grand scheme to take over the world and make it his own. Sorta like the aquatic dude in The Spy Who Loved Me. In Moonraker, Drax is smooth, menacing and very calculating. He wants to steal all the Moonrakers, or space shuttles for us layman, from around the world and start his own race of super-humans on the earth after he’s purged the current occupants off the face of the planet.

That means us, people. This doesn’t hold well with her Majesty’s Secret Service and the ever ready for action, James Bond. Here Moore is very comfortable in his own skin as Bond and he has definitely brought his own charm and grace to 007. Yep, there are the near misses, one liners and the ever present copulations with agents of the female persuasion. By now though it is a bit routine and not very endearing. Lois Chile is very cute, stern and capable as Dr. Goodhead but she’s just well…boring. Her chemistry with Moore really just lasts about 10 minutes then it becomes frosty and by the numbers.

Of course M (Bernard Lee), Q (Llewelyn) and even Moneypenny ( Lois Maxwell) are fun to watch as they each separately engage 007 in order to ready him for his mission. Moore gets a chance to globe hop of course. Rio being one place where we watch him and Jaws get into fisticuffs during on an aborted skytram ride. Pretty funny stuff as we get to watch Jaws bite in a huge cable with his metal teeth. He runs afoul of Bond a few times one being very comical, the waterfall sequence, and the other quite silly, the parachute scene at the beginning. (Jaws actually flaps his arms like wings…ha, but it doesn’t work, duh. ).

The powerboat chase is very cool and some action pieces come across nicely done but when it gets to outer space it turns into a silly bit of hokum which is appealing to Star Wars lovers like myself but will have more die hard Bond fans scratching their heads. One scene of brilliance I need to mention has to be the Close Encounters of the 3rd kind musical cue pop up as a secret code entry for a lab that has been manufacturing the deadly Drax gas that will descimate the earth’s population. A great reference that is one of many.

Many think Moonraker is under-rated, fast, freshly paced and full of camp and adventure. I sort of agree. It is under-rated in the spy scheme of things and it does feature Moore actually trying to figure out things that are happening and it does occasionally make for a decent spy picture but nowhere on the level of For Your Eyes Only or even The Man with the Golden Gun.

Moonraker, though, is fun and it somewhat tongue in cheek. I do hold it in high regard and I will never forget how much fun I had watching it for the first 5-6 times. After that though, I must give in to the slightly warped universe that is this movie which many fans think is Moore’s best. While I do not, I still think it’s a hell of a lot of fun. If anything watch it for Jaws falling in love and becoming 007’s best friend by the end. Kinda like Godzilla having Jet Jaguar as a pal.

NOTE : “Moonraker”is part of the new Bond 50 Boxed Blu Ray Set – Here is the link to the Blu Ray Review of “Moonraker”

“Let and Let Die” is Roger Moore’s debut film as the iconic spy James Bond. It is actually the 8th Bond over all with Lazenby and Connery having hung up their gadgets. It’s directed by Guy Hamilton who brought us the classic Connery entry Goldfinger and Remo Williams. I really don’t know what happened but the gears changed somewhat and Hamilton (maybe not solely) not only introduces us to the capable Roger Moore but incorporates a comedic and rather campy approach to the Bond movies.

The film is based on the Fleming novel of the same name and was written by Tom Mankiewicz (Superman, Ladyhawke). Unfortunately upon it’s release america was being subjected to films starring mostly African American actors and actresses. Mostly “Blaxploitation” movies. The filmmakers, I feel, in including stereotypes and ethnic cliches doom the film to some mediocrity and causes the movie to feel dated. But the film being dated is not the only thing that makes LALD a “just ok” Bond movie.

It isn’t really Roger Moore’s fault. The culprit is the story, cheesy acting and campy dialog that would cause me to cringe a bit. “Just being dis-arming, darling” 25 years ago while having some beers with my cousin, we would have a blast at the film’s expense. We loved it. Only back then though. Now? Well, I don’t think I love it as much. Not after some other much tighter, interesting and diverse entries, even by Moore himself.

So how does Moore fare, here? Is he great? No. Does he suck? No, not really. To some, Moore may not be as rougish, macho or appealing as Connery in his hey-dey. Moore’s approach is more sauve, smooth, sometimes, slippery and sarcastic. At times somewhat being a parody but never too over the top (That came much later). In his defense though, Connery’s Diamonds are Forever can be blamed for being a bit off the wall, too. When Moore really wants to, though, he can show us that Bond is in his blood. In LALD it happens infrequently though.

Moore’s intro is quite amusing and well done. He is interrupted by none other than “M” played by the incredibly talented Bernard Lee and Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxell) at his home of all places. He tries his best to hide a girl he’s been fooling with but Moneypenny being the curious woman she is catches the young girl scantily dressed and feeling ashamed. I thought as an intro it was unique and gives us a clear cut picture of Moore’s Bond being just as flirtatious as Connery’s once was. A playboy who just happens to be a spy.

Bond (Moore) is sent to investigate the deaths of three of his colleagues (during a parade in New Orleans is one) and is sent to NYC to find out the connection between their deaths and an underworld mob boss called Kananga AKA Mr Big played by the always awesome Yaphet Kotto. While in NYC Bond is thrust into another world of secret clubs, (There’s a revolving restaurant table, even!) Voo Doo and drugs. Seem like Mr Big wants to move some of the happy H around for free to put other rival gangs out of business. He also runs a fictional island called San Monique where the heroin is farmed.

It is while investigating in NYC that he runs into Felix Leiter after having his driver shot and almost getting killed in a crash. Bond then moves on to the previously mentioned restaurant named Fillet of Soul. It’s here that Bond meets the beautiful Tarot Card reader Solitaire. (The beautiful Jane Seymour) She works for Mr Big but is not his concubine. She needs to be a virgin in order for her to “see” using the tarot cards. Or something like that. I just know Mr Big freaks out after he finds out that Bond eventually sleeps with her.

I want to keep the rest spoiler free or this review will turn into a long recap of the movie. By now many have seen it anyway and those who have not could be surprised and entertained while watching the movie. Suffice it to say the film then follows the typical formula of most Bond films. Or just refer to any of the Austin Powers movies and there you go.

Bond continues his globetrotting and in San Monique he hooks up with Rosie Carver, a very nervous CIA agent played by Gloria Hendry. While there Moore’s act beefs up a bit when he discovers that Kananga is farming Heroin. Moore looks very damn cool in that slick glider of his. So, what follows all of this that works? We get Tee Hee played by Julius Harris who is a deadly foe with a pincer for a hand. He a bit charming too. He is quite menacing especially during some close calls with Bond. The climatic ending with Harris is great! Harris remains above the material though and gives the production some class.

Seymour is impressive as Solitaire here as well. She is very pretty, capable and alluring. She plays very well off Moore and handles the material without a hitch. Kotto works here too. He is bad ass, hip, educated and deadly. He knows how to dispatch secret agents and when he resorts to the tried and true method of using sharks (It’s always sharks isn’t it?) he gets this twinkle in his eye that is a gem. The 7-Up dude, Geoffrey Holder as Baron Semedi, the VooDoo priest that is controlled by Kananga is creepy and has that killer laugh that chills to the bone. He hangs out with the bad dudes but he seems like he just doesn’t care what side he’s on. The actors and the performances for the most part bode well in this 007 production.

Now, when we get back to Louisiana, the movie takes a funky turn. It becomes some weird “Smokey and the Bandit” meets “James Bond” hybrid. We get the incredible and inflated Clifton James (Superman 2) as Sheriff JW Pepper. Pepper is loud, boozy looking, rude and is the redneck stereotype in this movie. I have no idea, other than to supply comedy like a hammer to the head, why the Louisiana boat chase with Pepper was done like it was. The action is breezy and well staged with the boat stunts being exciting and dangerous. Clifton James is lovingly over the top and plays the stereotype with laser precision.

He even says that they have themselves some “Black Russians” and I don’t mean the drink! I don’t know what to make of it all. I mean it is a Bond movie, no? Not an episode of Dukes of Hazard. Funny though, these scenes are truly funny and insane to watch if you just let the movie take you for a ride. It’s good for a giggle but in the end it really serves to make LALD a farcical type of film. Hamilton’s direction is curiously tight here though with great cinematography by Ted Moore (Goldfinger). The art direction by Oscar winner Peter Lamont (Titanic) is slick and service-able. The movie is clean and great to look at.

To sum it all up the film is still fun but a bit dated in parts. It is in no way a serious Bond picture and it will take a few more Moore entries to get that. Moore is likable and very believable even though at times he doesn’t sell being in any real trouble very well. He transitions neatly I must say in his defense. I even love those huge cigars 007 sucks on too. It takes me back to some really fun times watching it with my cousins in NYC on a late Saturday night. LALD is appealing but none too smart and that’s ok just sit back and let Paul McCartney’s killer tunage reel you in. Enjoy.

The Living Daylights is the 15th Bond entry and the first of 2 films that starred Timothy Dalton as James Bond. I wish he had done more. The studio took a gamble that paid off in getting Dalton to bring an edgier, leaner Bond back to the big screen. Fortunately for all involved Roger Moore decided to hang it up with the Bond movies (He was close to 60 years old) after the ridiculousness of “A View to a Kill” which was a critical and financial let down.

Moore did 7 films overall and for the most part his Bond was a long running gag, it seemed, until “For Your Eyes Only” which was the best Moore Bond in my opinion. Moore should have stopped there. He didn’t. Much to our astonishment. But, oh well he did have a good run and we had to move on since we all wanted more Bond and more Bond girls.

The first thing I loved right away was that the movie was a genuine spy picture and not an unintentional parody of itself. We get a very cool intro involving a training exercise in Gibraltar. Here we are introduced to the stoic and deadly serious “M” played by Robert Brown as the head of MI:6. He gives his paratroopers their instructions and has them jump out of an airplane to descend on awaiting soldiers with paint guns.

But in typical action movie fashion some jerk has real ammunition and is ready to do some damage to the double O’s that are unaware it’s open season on British spies. This opening is fast and full of well choreographed action as we are introduced to our new Bond – Timothy Dalton. He’s fast, pissed and seriously wants to get the asshole who just did his mates in. And he does and soon after of course he lands on a yacht and convinces a bored woman that he is a “Real Man.”

I must admit, I wasn’t too keen on the “A-Ha” tune at first but it grew on me. It became catchy and after I purchased the Bond songs compilation CD a few years back it became one of my favorites behind Duran Duran’s and Sheryl Crow’s entries.

Right after the opening we get a somewhat faithful adaptation of Ian Fleming’s short story “The Living Daylights” It basically involves a Russian defector who frames his girlfriend Kara Milovy (Maryam D’abo) as an assassin. The defection though is not all that it seems to be since General Koskov played by Jeroen Krabbe (The Fugitive) is blaming the innocent General Pushkin (John Ryhs Davies – Raiders of the Lost Ark) for putting out a hit on British Spies known as “Smert Shpionam.” Davies replaces Walter Gotell (General Gogol) after Gotell fell ill and could not work. After Koskov is re-captured Bond gets very suspicious and starts to tail Kara to get close to Koskov and pose as his old friend.

Former model D’abo is a bit weak as a Bond girl. She is too timid, quiet and at times too doe-eyed. She starts to really come into herself once she starts to figure out Bond’s intentions. She plays strongly off of Dalton and by the third act she is pretty much playing his equal. Dalton, though continues to impress. His seriousness and anti-establishment leanings are fun to watch as he bends the rules, rubs a co – agent the wrong way and defies orders.

For example he gets Koskov out of the country using a very busty Russian double agent to entice a watchmen and off goes Koskov in a small tube in the Russian oil pipe-line. Great stuff. These little bits of levity are welcome but I loved the straight tone of the film. Even “Q” played by the ever lovable Desmond Llewelyn gets into the lighter moments as he introduces Bond to the latest spyware gadgets like my favorite – A large boom box with Missiles. “Something we are making for the Americans. It’s called a Ghetto-Blaster!” Just fucking brilliant.

So, on with the rest of the cast. I really liked that they let us have, for once, a very cute and attractive Ms. Moneypenny here with the lovely Caroline Bliss. Bliss is at first a bit stiff but settles in nicely as she starts to flirt with Dalton and obviously she shows us that she pines for him as he turns to leave. She gives us the goo goo eyes and pouty lips. As the action and story nicely progress (after a long stunt filled chase scene in the snow and over a frozen lake using Q’s tricked out car) we end up in Afghanistan and we watch Joe Don Baker chew the scenery as the militant and sometimes buffonish arms dealer Brad Whitaker.

He gets what’s coming to him as he double deals and back-stabs to no end. The big surprise for me was Art Malik as Kamran Shah as a leader of the Mujahideen. Art steals every scene he’s in starting as a lowly, dirty prisoner of war then being outed as a military leader in disguise. He and Dalton butt heads but Art’s loveable nature and his devotion to his cause (that involves Opium and Russian figureheads) is very believable.

So, to wrap it up, The Living Daylights is very good and the last “Cold War” entry of the franchise. John Barry’s score is hip but repetitive at times. He gives the movie sufficient momentum during a few tracks like the plane chase during the movie’s finale. I rather admire Barry for his long run as the stand out composer of the Bond films. (David Arnold as well). The finale is rousing fun with a great attack on the Russian airfield and Bond’s desperate attempt to stop a bomb and drugs from leaving the country.

So, there are bombs, bullets, camels, horses and a great climactic fight between Dalton and the dude with the small feet from “Die Hard” – Andreas Wisniewski as the deadly “Necros” (why are all these henchmen blonde?) who gives it all he has to try and defeat Bond. The stunts are great and the action very entertaining. The last showdown between Bond and Whitaker is just plain hilarious. “He met his Waterloo”

So, enjoy this first of 2 Timothy Dalton entries, gang. It’s a goodbye to the Cold War Bond films and it works in all the right places. Recommended.

James Bond’s investigation of a missing colleague in Jamaica leads him to the island of the mysterious Dr. No and a scheme to end the US space program.

The Bond Films: Dr No

By Vic

My first theatrical exposure to a genuine James Bond film was when I saw (I’m cringing right about now) MOONRAKER in 1979 (The film, however goofy and cavalier, still retains some charm and tongue in cheek appeal). What a way to cash in on Star Wars! Well, Disney did it with “The Black Hole,” so why not UA? After the movie, I felt as if I had seen all they had in the cool, neat, little package that is James Bond so I shrugged my shoulders at Moonraker and said, “Meh” and moved on to my next flick. My Uncle and Grandfather had insisted that Bond had a very good run of films waaaaay back even before my time. I found it pretty incredulous, but hey, who was I to argue with my Grandfather and Uncle? So this is what happened:

Right around the time I graduated high school I went down to Tower Records and Video near Soho, Manhattan and bought every Bond film to date up to Diamonds are Forever on Videocassette. When I got home I popped in “Dr. No” first and that was the beginning of a fruitful and long relationship with Sean Connery as the baddest spy to have ever walked this planet. “Dr. No” was amazing, but I was left wondering how they made “Moonraker.” Dr. No was produced by Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman back in the early 1960s and it was after they saw Connery in “Darby O’Gill and the Little People” that they knew they had someone who could pull off their version of the hard- nosed, all business agent. But Connery brought more to the table than that. He had danger and threat lurking just behind those studly Scottish lips.

Swiss actress Ursula Andress, who was cast after being seen in a photograph just two weeks before shooting began, is my very first Bond girl. Who will ever live up to that walking out of the water onto the beach scene? NO ONE! And She can act, too! I must, in all honestly, say that Joseph Wiseman out-acts just about everyone in this film as the evil megalomaniac Dr. No who is involved in appropriate evil Cold War hi-jinks with that grand-poobah of evil global organizations S.P.E.C.T.R.E.

Wiseman is chilly, dangerous and very aloof and that makes him very evil and believable. This film is just all around a must see Bond film and a must-own for spy film enthusiasts. Connery is just stunning to behold as he swaggers and assassinates his way through this very economical spy thriller. Now if only I can sell off all those Bond videocassettes…

[about to make love to Helga Brandt]James Bond: “Oh the things I do for England.”

Why start with the 5th Bond film for my first Bond review? Because I left it to chance. I felt like being random and I spun my big Bond Wheel and voila! It landed on “You Only Live Twice.” YOLT is the fifth Bond film to star Mr Sean Connery and the very smooth, smart and sexually confident James Bond. Very loosely based (actually almost in name only) on the novel by the same name by Ian Fleming. The screenplay was written by Roald Dahl (Matilda, The Witches). It is the first to be directed by Lewis Gilbert (Alfie, Sink the Bismarck, Educating Rita) who went on to direct “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Moonraker” after which he became famous (or in some circles, infamous) for the over the top, comedic and epic scope of the Roger Moore films.

YOLT is neither epic or really that over the top. It falls almost in the middle. It has a very traditional Bond-esque opening where we treated to a very deceptive start. A United State spaceship in orbit around the earth is hijacked by another unidentified spacecraft. The US suspect it to be the Russians but the Brits believe it could be the Japanese since the spacecraft landed in the waters off the Japanese coast. In proper fashion they send 007 to check things out and to investigate.

James Bond is sent to Tokyo after faking his own death and confronting “M” about the dangers of being undercover for too long and the seriousness of the situation. The “M” and Bond moments throughout Connery’s films are one of the best constants of the movies and they are witty, biting and hilarious to behold. “M” is played with the stunning timing of a comedic actor and the intensity of a tax audit by Bernard Lee, who steals every scene from under Connery.

Having Bond go East and jumping right into the Japanese culture and inner circle of their spy ring is a great idea. It shows progress, finesse and an increase of danger and scope. Bond has to adjust and adapt to his Asian counterparts and he does with a wink in our direction and a smarmy bit of machismo. Even as he watches a Sumo match he plays it as if he belongs there and has seen a million matches before. There are plenty double twists, spy lingo, booby traps and a very athletic and brutal fight sequence where furniture gets tossed around. DP Freddie Young also treats us to a long reveal shot of an awesome chase / fight scene.

He teams up with the very alluring Bond Girls (In this order) Aki and Helga Brandt (Akiko Wakabayashi and Karen Dor) . Brandt has the better chemistry since of course she has the meatier role of the femme fatale. During these scenes Connery’s Bond is ever the dominant but is shown eventually that he isn’t always in control. Not a bad thing.

So, lets get to the best parts. The Little Nellie sequence / copter chase. “Little Nellie” is sent to Bond via Q (Desmond Llewyln) and we get the routine and funny repartee between Q and Bond. Q, as always, detests Bond’s cavalier attitude with his equipment and Bond really lets Q have it by doing not one but two close flybys with the whirly-bird. YOLT is the first time we are treated to actually seeing Blofeld, the leader of SPECTRE. Here he is played by the brilliant Donald Pleasence (Dracula 1979, Halloween and Fantastic Voyage) and he plays it deadly and straight. Before he is revealed we are treated only to his voice and by the time we do see him, scar and all, Gilbert has set up his villian’s more terrifying traits by his actions and dialog alone. It is just brilliant.

Pleasence plays deadly right through his make-up and he relishes in getting rid of some of his enemies in ways that Austin Powers fan will most likely chuckle at. It is a bit dated but it’s too tongue in cheek not to love.

John Barry’s music is classy but a bit redundant in parts. The title song by Nancy Sinatra is elegant lean but reported to be glued together from 25 takes or so. The we get (spoiler free) the huge payoff where all sides get into the fray of trying to stop SPECTRE from starting WWIII by stealing everyone’s spacecraft’s. There is a nifty, fake lake that will be remembered by the most jaded Bond fans forever.

There are ninjas, piranha, self destruct mechanisms. Everything to keep us Bondheads happy. I can only gripe about some of the flat set up scenes in the beginning and at times we are bogged down by lingering establishing shots of the beautiful Japanese countryside. I’m nit picking though. I can strongly recommend this Connery entry even if his execution in parts is lazy. Enjoy, gang. Another Bond review coming soon!